Soft approach of police led Nishan to commit crime, claims friend

A childhood friend of Nishan Singh, who has been given life imprisonment in the Faridkot abduction and rape case, has blamed the soft approach of the police and the mild provisions of the Juvenile Act for the things coming to such a sorry pass.

A childhood friend of Nishan Singh, who has been given life imprisonment in the Faridkot abduction and rape case, has blamed the soft approach of the police and the mild provisions of the Juvenile Act for the things coming to such a sorry pass.

The friend, who did not want to be named, told this reporter on Saturday, "Had the police been serious in doing its job and if there were harsh provisions in the Juvenile Act, Nishan would not have been able to commit such a serious crime as his criminal tendency would have been nipped in the bud."

He claimed that Nishan continued to commit crimes as the police failed to have effective measures against him, and being juvenile, in most of the cases registered against him he got away with mild punishments.

The second-time abduction and the alleged failure of the police to arrest the accused after the first incident had led to a huge public outburst in the town.

Gurdit Singh Sekhon, a member of the joint action committee formed in the case, said, "The second-time abduction of the girl from her house led to a feeling of insecurity among the locals and to mass protests. Till now, there have been 22 cases registered against Nishan."

Nishan's friend claimed, "Had Rajwinder Singh Ghali, who is sentenced to seven years for criminal conspiracy and to two years under the Arms Act, not opened fire while abducting the girl, and had her parents not been beaten up, the case would not have mustered such a public support."

"No action had been taken against Nishan after the registration of the first case for abducting the girl," he claimed.

The court recently awarded rigorous life imprisonment to Nishan Singh, the main accused, and seven-year RI to nine others, including his mother.

Meanwhile, Nishan Singh has reportedly been shifted to the Ludhiana jail.